One of my first memories of Papa Pete, besides his yellow toronado which was a real thrill to my mother (yellow being her favorite color and a custom made anything demonstrated a picture worth many unspoken words),this was the first time mom schlepped us over to his house in Grand Ledge Michigan. He was going … Continue reading Papa’s Garden
This story begins with last year when we came to visit. My mom has a green eclectus parrot, Drew, and apparently his signal for disapproval of someone is to squawk loudly as the person passes by. Drew doesn’t prefer Craig’s company, so as you can presume each time he passed the cage a loud squawk … Continue reading The Bird Ladies
After our week rental at the beach expired we piled all our goods into the van, stuffed in the six of us with Lucy at our feet, strapped on the bikes and drove north. After extreme play at the beach the boys were content to lean back, plug up with the ipods or handheld video games and … Continue reading Lake Leelanau, Michigan
The week at the beach was a mixing of four generations. While we were there it is nearly impossible to be still in all the commotion and appreciate this simple and valuable truth. There were the great-grand children age 6-21, the grand children ages 40-48, Mom and Dad (they prefer to keep their ages private) and … Continue reading Generations
Each morning we stayed at the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina I got myself out of bed at five a.m. That might seem crazy considering it was a week of vacation which should include ample rest, but I’m wired in a slightly different way. I couldn’t possibly imagine beginning my day at … Continue reading Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean
All week at the beach I kept a an ongoing list of the odd bits of beach life. They are more pronounced at the shore than anywhere else I can remember. They all together seem to make my whole experience like the deepest cleansing breath with an exhale like an ocean breeze. constant chatter of … Continue reading Bits of the Beach
Each year we have a picture night on Thursday. It is always Thursday because no one wants to get dressed up before then and the last night is packing night, so Picture night is always Thursday. And I am always the photographer…happily. Enjoy a good look at our whole family. Continue reading Family Portraits
Great Grandma has never missed a family reunion in the twenty years I’ve joined the tradition. She wasn’t going to miss it this year even though doing stairs is impossible without a few people assisting her.(Fortunately this three story beach house has an elevator.) She’s bright, lively and fun as ever. The kids like playing … Continue reading 96 years young
A few of the kids are drawn to conquering the perfect skim board ride. They will reapproach the waves for hours, in fact yesterday in 58 degree water (yikes, ouch) they spent more than four hours of the afternoon perfecting their form. When I appear with my mamarazzi camera they pull out the plug on cool and … Continue reading Surfer Dudes with ‘tudes and one Cool Chick
As we are sharing a house with 26 people for the week, it’s easy to imagine not only the chaos but the dilemmas which arise to feed this many and those challenges. Long ago we came up with an easy plan. Each family has their night to shop, cook and clean up. Once a week that’s … Continue reading Italian Night with the LaTorres
Mzungu Mama 